“Fuck,” Shane muttered, setting her back down. He stripped off his jeans and ran to get a condom, pulling it over his hard cock while walking back to her. Rowan watched from her place near the wall, her body screaming for him. He grinned lasciviously as he stalked toward her, hard, sheathed, ready to devour his prey.
Picking her up again, he leaned her back against the wall for support. He braced her there while coming up underneath her slowly, bringing her down on top of him. The cold wall collided with his scorching heat, stopping her breath. Rowan slammed her head back, moaning. With every inch they were joined, she died and went to a better and better heaven.
When he was completely inside her, he stilled. Her clit throbbed and her insides started to convulse around him. She needed more.
“Shane,” she growled at him, opening her eyes and drinking him in. “Fuck me. Please.”
She watched as Shane’s eyes dilated with desire, then she felt his first thrust. A piercing cry of ecstasy filled the apartment. Shane’s or Rowan’s, she didn’t know or care. His head was down and he was grunting with each hard thrust. Her hips and head slammed into the wall over and over again. She’d never felt anything better. Tingles and currents moved throughout her body, the pressure building up inside of her so intense she thought she might explode.
The pain mixed with pleasure was something so new she felt giddy experiencing it. Never had any of her lovers taken her against a wall. She felt like she could light the world. If she touched an electric socket she would burn it out. Her toes curled, her breasts tightened, and another growl escaped her mouth as if a wild animal was trying to get out. Tingles from her clit started moving down her legs, each thrust making it stronger and stronger. Oh, the promise of her orgasm was right there. So close, the pleasure was so intense she thought her mind would snap.
“Shane. Oh God, Shane. Don’t stop,” she sobbed with stars in her eyes. When her orgasm took over her body she screamed his name, her body wracked by sobs.
“Fuck, Rowan,” Shane roared as he came inside of her. She was barely aware of it, her orgasm was so powerful.
He thrust into her a few more times then stilled. They leaned against each other and the wall, the apartment quiet except for their panting. Slowly, her legs slipped down his body and met the floor. Still shaky, she waited for him to disconnect from her.
When he slowly walked away to take care of the condom, she took a small step and collapsed into the nearest chair. She didn’t know what to do or what to think. In fact, thinking was out of the question; she sat, her mind filled with nothing.
He reached for her and she stood. Following him to the shower, she stepped into the hot water and let him wash her. He lovingly massaged soap all over her body then washed it off with warm water. She tried to soap him too, but her arms wouldn’t move. He smiled and took the soap out of her hand, washing himself.
After the shower he wrapped her in a towel and led her to his bed. Slipping into the sheets, the last thing she heard was Shane whispering in her ear, “Please be here in the morning.”
Chapter Ten
Shane awoke to the phone vibrating on the table. Rowan’s body was pressed into him and he really didn’t want to move, but he knew that only a few people called him at this hour, and only if they needed him.
“Yo,” he answered, trying hard not to sound pissed and asleep.
“It’s happening. Now. Get the kid.” Cody’s voice was tight.
“Yep. Be there in ten.” Shane put the phone down and started extracting himself from Rowan.
“Where are you sneaking off to?” Rowan’s sleepy voice floated up from her pillow.
“I gotta go. I’ll be back. Please be here when I get back. It’s just work.” He leaned over and kissed her head, breathing in her scent.
“Yeah. Don’t be too long,” Rowan mumbled and resettled into the bed.
Shane dressed and grabbed his gear. He was out the door in less than three minutes and up the stairs pounding on Justin’s door in four.
“Justin. Get up. It’s Shane.”
Just then, the door opened. Justin was dressed, his hand wrapped around the grip of a gun he had tucked into the waist of his jeans.
“Jesus kid. What the hell?”
“Just habit. What’s up? Rowan okay?” Justin asked, running a hand through his hair.
“She’s fine. Cody called. Rob needs back up. Now.” Shane looked around the apartment. Something seemed off, but he couldn’t place it and they needed to go.
“Right. Hold on.” Justin turned to the back bedroom.
Shane tried to wake up while Justin was gone. He looked around the apartment again, then the smell hit him. Scented candles. Holy shit. Justin had a date! Sure enough, he heard voices from the back. Hiding his smile, he waited for Justin to reappear.
“Okay. Let’s move,” Justin said as he came out of the bedroom.
“Okay, Romeo. Let’s go.” Shane chuckled as he turned around to walk out. He heard Justin mutter a curse as he closed and locked the door.
“Should I go tell Rowan to stay out, lest she walk in on that?” Shane asked him, smiling.
“Just don’t, okay. I’m hoping to be back before she gets up.” Justin sounded so serious that he took pity on him and let it go.
Five minutes later, Shane pulled out of the parking lot with Justin in the passenger seat.
“So, I think I owe you one.” Shane spoke quietly.
Justin’s head whipped up. “Why?” he asked, suspiciously.
“Man! What is with you two? Because you said you kept her around. So, thanks.” Shane focused on the road ahead of him.
“Yeah. No worries. Did she tell you? Ya know, about me.” Justin seemed nervous, piquing Shane’s curiosity yet again.
“Yeah. She said you guys go way back. Known each other for a long time. It’s all good.” Shane watched him out of the corner of his eye while he spoke and noticed Justin’s jaw clench down.
Shane’s eyes went back to the road and Justin blew out a breath. Shane turned back to look at him again, but he just smiled tightly and nodded. Okay, so there was obviously more to the story there. Justin was not pleased and wasn’t hiding it well.
They drove a few more minutes before turning down a dirt alley and parking. Shane reached under his seat and pulled out his Glock 9, checking to see if it was fully loaded and that the safety was off. He looked over at Justin and to his surprise he was doing the same thing.
“Nice piece, kid. Where the hell did you get that?” Shane was impressed to see him sitting there with a fully loaded Colt M1911.
Justin checked the safety and looked up at him, smiling. “Oh, this? From Rowan. For my 15th birthday. That was a killer party. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” His eyes flashed with smugness and he jumped out of the car.
What. The. Fuck?
“You coming?” Justin called through the window.
He snapped out of it and opened his door.
They met Cody and Rob around the corner. Cody looked like he was having the time of his life. All smiles, cracking jokes. Rob, on the other hand, looked like he could snap at any moment.
“Alright. This is what I got. Been trying to get into that house for three weeks. He has a back room that shows a lot of activity on the infrared, but so far only two people have come and gone. They’re hauling in a lot of something. I’m thinking more girls, or something worse. For some reason tonight they both left and came back after about an hour. They’ve been drinking. The one guy was stumbling drunk and his buddy dropped him off then left. He’s in there passed out, and the other guy is definitely at a booty call.” Rob laid it out.
“Okay,” Justin piped up. “I’ll go in and check the back room. You two cover me, and you better fucking make some noise if he wakes up or his buddy comes back.”
“What? No way you’re going in,” Shane almost shouted.
“No dude. He got this. This dude knows his shit. He moves like a fucking ninja,” Cody whispered to Sha
ne.
“What the fuck you guys been doing with him? He’s a fucking kid!” Shane asked, incredulously.
Justin snorted. “I’m not a kid, and I’ve been doing this shit for years. Relax.” Justin pulled out his gun and checked it one more time.
Shane watched in awe as Justin moved out, gun in hand, creeping over the grass. They were right, he moved fast, and he was silent. They waited until he was at the house and then they moved forward as a group. Much slower and with a lot more noise than Justin the Ninja.
“The kid knows what’s up. I told you. Never seen anyone move like that,” Cody whispered to him.
Shane moved close to the house and pressed his ear to the wall. Nothing. Where the hell did he go? He tensed, every sense alive, waiting. Creeping along the wall to the front, he hoped to see inside. Hearing no movement at all in the house, he wondered if maybe Justin hadn’t make it inside yet.
“Hey, Shane!” Justin’s whisper-shout gave Shane a heart attack. “It’s a fucking pot farm. No girls. Go get Rob, what does he want me to do?”
Justin was standing on the front porch. Jesus. Cody was right, the kid was a ninja. How in the hell did he do that? Shane nodded and turned back to find Rob. Shane found him at the back door, waiting for Justin.
“Rob, he’s at the front. Says it’s a pot farm. What do you want to do?” Shane whispered to him.
Rob turned toward him. “He’s at the front?”
“Yeah. Walked out the fucking front door.” Shane smiled. He couldn’t help but be impressed.
“A pot farm? Three fucking weeks for a goddamn pot farm?” Rob stood up and started walking toward the front.
Cody joined them as they rounded the corner.
“Oh shit.” Cody started running.
Shane looked up and saw a man walk up the porch. As he reached for the front door, Justin came out nowhere and put the gun right in his face. He was eerily calm; obviously this wasn’t the first time he had pulled a gun on someone. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Shane ran toward them.
“What the fuck, man? You here to rip me off? You’re fucking dead,” The man shouted.
Before Shane or Cody could get there, Justin had him on the ground in a wrist hold, pressing the gun in the side of his head.
“No, man. I’m not here to rip you off. I’m looking for a friend of mine. This isn’t his house, man. So you’re going to calm the fuck down, and I’m going to go find my friend.” Justin wasn’t even breathing heavy when he spoke to him.
The man was struggling against him, but Justin had him subdued, there wasn’t a thing he could do. When Justin looked over at Rob he just shook his head, and the three of them started backing away.
“So listen, man. I’m going to let you go and you’re going to go in your fucking house and I’m going to go find my friend? You got that, man?” Justin spoke, emphasizing ‘man’.
“Fuck you, man! No one comes into my house and fucks with me, you piece of shit,” The guy on the ground shouted.
Shane started moving back to Justin and the commotion, but Justin looked up at him and shook his head again, smiling.
“Okay, man. You asked for it,” Justin said, looking at Shane.
Shane watched as Justin put his gun down and moved his hand over the guy’s neck. After a minute or so Justin got up, slipped his gun into his pants, and walked over to him.
“What the hell did you do?” Shane asked before he even reached him.
“Just knocked him out. He’ll be fine,” Justin said, walking past him.
Following him, he wondered who in the hell this guy was, and what the hell he was to Rowan. When they got back to the cars, Justin calmly adjusted his gun and waited, standing near the Kia.
“Well, that blows,” Rob said as he opened his car.
“No worries, man. What were you looking for, anyway?” Cody asked him.
“Wasn’t sure. The intel was vague. Just was hired to follow him and find out what he was doing. The whole thing was strange. But in this business, what isn’t, right?” Rob said as he slid into his truck.
“Okay. See you later,” Shane called over his shoulder as he walked to his car.
Justin followed, silently. Shane had all kinds of questions for him, but he kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t figure what he wanted to know first. Rowan gave him a Colt M1911 for his 15th birthday? How does an 18 year old acquire skills like that? Shane had been in the business for years and was just getting comfortable confronting people. And they way he moved in that house, it was like he was born for it.
They drove back without speaking. He had no idea what Justin was thinking, the kid was like a tomb, just like Rowan. They were a lot alike that way. When they wanted to shut down their emotions they just locked up. He wondered what other connections they had, in fact, he wanted to know what their real connection was.
Shane pulled in and parked, letting the engine run. He turned to Justin and opened his mouth to speak.
“Nope. I’m not even going there with you. You got questions, you ask Rowan.” Justin spoke first, then opened his door and jumped out.
He was halfway up the stairs before Shane was even out of his car. He watched as Justin slipped into the apartment, then he turned and walked into his own, where Rowan was hopefully still waiting for him.
*****
Rowan awoke to the smell of coffee and clean sheets. She stretched and opened her eyes. Her body felt like it was floating. Not only had she had amazing sex, but she’d slept in a real bed for the first time in almost two years. Oh, the luxury of it all. She couldn’t hide the grin on her face.
Shane walked in with two coffee cups and she groaned.
“Hmmm. You make more noises like that, your coffee will be cold by the time you get to it.” His voice was low and full of promise.
“Oh, God. This is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in,” she said without moving.
Sitting down, he leaned over her, “So it’s really all about the bed, is it?”
Looking up at him, his eyes were sparkling and she could tell he was teasing, so she laughed and rolled away from him.
“And the coffee. I really love coffee,” she said, smiling.
“God, you’re beautiful,” Shane spoke with a reverence not foreign to her.
Her eyes flew open and connected with his. His mouth was slightly open, and his eyes went back to roaming her body. She watched him lick his lips as his eyes slowly moved up, finally meeting hers. He reached out and gently placed his hand on her neck, slowly moving down her shoulder to her hip. When he started to move his hand back up her body across her stomach, she sat up and scooted away from him.
Reaching for her coffee, she pulled the sheet around herself. It was getting a little too serious for her. That look, she had seen that look before, and it never ended well.
“Um, I think I need to go home now.” She smiled as she spoke, hoping to let him off easy.
Stopping, he watched her, tilting his head as if trying to work something out.
“Okay Rowan. But here’s the thing. We’re not done. Not even close. No bolting, no packing. Don’t even think about it.” He spoke to her while pinning her with his eyes.
Rowan’s eyes flashed in surprise. Goddamn Justin. When did they even talk to each other? She looked down and felt the panic flood her veins. Sipping her coffee, looking anywhere but at Shane, she took a moment to steady her breath.
“Yeah, well. No promises. I’m looking for work now. So where ever it takes me, I go.” She moved off the bed to get up.
Feeling his eyes on her while she got up, she walked to the bathroom, picking up her clothes on the way. Once inside she let the panic take over. Goddamn Justin! Why would he tell him that she wanted to leave? And when? When were they even together? And why? Justin never said a thing to her.
She dressed as quickly as she could. She needed to get home and talk to him. She slipped on her shorts and ran a hand through her hair. So much for her good mood. And sh
e really enjoyed last night. Darn it. She had been really happy, and now-well, now it was time to leave.
When she opened the door to find Shane waiting for her just on the other side, she let out a yelp and held the doorframe.
“Jesus, Shane. You scared the crap out of me,” she said, walking through the door.
“Rowan,” he gently grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him, “I can see that brain of yours churning. I don’t know why you’re running, but know this, I can find you.”
Rowan stopped breathing. Her breath was lodged into her throat. He knows I’m running? Wait, he’s talking about us. She let out her breath and started to laugh a little. Shane was watching her as the panic gripped her body and then subsided. His eyes narrowed at her reaction.
Shane pressed her against the wall, caging her in with his arms. “I don’t care how we do this, Rowan. Fast or slow. Run, don’t run. Doesn’t matter. I’m in. You’re in. We can do this any way you want. We can sleep together, we can date, we can move in together. It doesn’t matter. This,” he gestured between the two of them, “This is happening.”
Rowan didn’t know what to say. She could barely comprehend the words he had just said. All she knew was that she had to leave before her head exploded.
Hysterical laughter rose from deep inside of her, with it the panic she thought she’d quelled earlier. With no other option, she kissed him lightly on the lips and tried her best to stifle it.
Shane crossed his arms over his chest and watched her closely. Rowan couldn’t speak, just maniacally giggles as she walked through the apartment to the front door. She walked up the steps still laughing, still trying to hold the panic at bay. At the top of the stairs she opened her door, and all the panic and laughter died instantly.
Chapter Eleven
The woman standing in her kitchen was barely dressed, well, not even dressed. She was wearing Justin’s shirt with no underwear and her tongue was down his throat. What the hell is going on? Rowan cleared her throat.
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